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TEMPLE TORCHES 



TEMPLE TORCHES 



By 

JUDITH L. C. GARNETT 

Author of "Sermons in Rhyme," 

"Twenty-two Messages for You," 

and other poetical 

works. 




NEW YORK 

AUTHORS & PUBLISHERS CORPORATION 

4th Avenue & 30th Street 

MCMXXI 



^^'^'\, 
>^^^' 



^^^ 



Copyright, 1921, by the 
Authors & Publishers Corporation 



m 30 1921 



ICI.A653314 



CONTENTS 

title page 

Still Subtle 7 

Full Value 9 

To-day 10 

Midnight 11 

To THE Work 12 

Damocles 13 

The Great Message : The Paid Price of Peace 14 

You Too! 15 

The Unmindful 16 

Lessons 17 

As a Bride 18 

Indicted 19 

Hold Fast I 20 

Children . 20 

In Lowly Guises 21 

The Obedient Suffragette » 22 

Patriotism 23 

A Devil's Game 24 

Called . 25 

"Ten Years for Criticism" 26 

The Final Surprise 27 

"And Ireland?" 28 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 30 

A Mother's Charge 31 



TITLE PAGE 

"I Stood By a Grave as the Sun Went Down" 33 

The Defense of the Pacifist 34 

Discontent 35 

The Ten-cent Idolizer 36 

In the Narrow Path 38 

Sister of Mine . 39 

The Restless Corpse - 40 

Forever "Subtil" 41 

The One-pound Miser ....... 43 



STILL SUBTLE 

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of tl 
field. — Genesis, Hi, 1. 

"Just one more State, then Suffrage !" — 
Lo! the fight seems just begun, — 

The luring deceit of the Devil 
That isi rife from sun to sun ; 

, And only the measure of sorrow 
Can fathom the precipice 
That yawns at the feet of the woman 
Who heeds his croon and hiss. 

Only the whole of perdition 

Is great as the avalanche 
That rolls in the tide of Suffrage 

To poison both root and branch. 

So I charge ye, O ye women. 
To heed not this Devil's plea 

That will sink both hearth and nation 
In that deep, impure sea ! 



I charge ye, O ye women! 

Are God's commandments dead? 
Shall every place be a place of strife,- 

Each home with a hydra head? 

I charge ye, O ye women. 
By all the woes of the past, 

That ye hearken to God's instructions 
And hold to His wisdom fast ! 



FULL VALUE 

For the life is more than meat, and the body than 
raiment. . 

I remember when I saw him, a white-haired, 

tottering man, — 
Not even a chance thought he seemed of the 

great Godly plan, — 
And idlers gloomed and turned as on he 

feebly came and passed : 
"A bad-luck dog he's been from youth, — he'll 

be so till the last." 
But once I knew this "dog" to do a great and 

golden deed; 
And standing by his grave to-day, this eulogy 

I plead: 
"Were it not well, — the journey long, his 

penury, his need, — 
When he could breathe the fragrant breath 

of a great, golden deed? 
O lasting monument so tall, with praise in 

graven stone. 
How weak beside memorials that reach to 

God's own throne! 
For in great deeds, O blessed Lord, — who'er 

the doer be, — 
We praise and bless and glorify the likeness 

there of Thee." 

9 



TO-DAY ; 

/ must wofk the works of him that sent me, while it is 
day. — John, ix, 4. 

To-day ! To-day ! 
Now my best for God and you ; 

Be the pathway sweet with fragrance, 
Be the rough road rank wih rue. 

To-day ! To-day ! 
Now my best for God and you ; 

May He find me ever faithful, 
Ever watchful, prompt and true! 



10 



MIDNIGHT 

The night cometh. — John, ix, 4. 

I look, and see the dance is past, — 
The gleam gone, hushed the band; 

And now around the shattered feast 
The ghouls, all smirking, stand. 

I look and see the harvest ripe. 

O heart nigh still with guilt. 
The night stays now, — "the door is shut,"- 

The clown's crown dulled, a-tilt ! 

I look, and see the broad highway 
That leads from God's domain : 

The Cain-marked clown has trod its length- 
He cries to heaven in vain. 



11 



TO THE WORK 

Let us lay aside every weight. — Hebrews, xii, 1. 

Come, — you and I, — lay our great weights 
down 
At the foot of Christ's dear cross : 
The fears, the pain, the loss. 
The pitch, the dirt, the dross, — 

Yes ; lay them down. Let us cast them ofif ! 
With such weights how can we rise, 
Free from earth's tyrannies, 
To win the crown we prize? 



12 



DAMOCLES 

{The War-lord's Canticle) 
Conscience also bearing witness. — Romans, ii, 15. 

The spring smiles from the hedges ; 

The wind is singing south — 
/ see the myriads lying 

With curse on gaping mouth. 

The earth gleams wide with glory; 

The sky is smiling back — 
/ see hordes groping, moaning, 

Along the bloody track. 

The gold shines in the storehouse; 

The feast is on the board — 
/ see the 'pending death-blow, — 

The thread that holds the sword. 



13 



THE GREAT MESSAGE: THE PAID 
PRICE OF PEACE 

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. — / 
Timothy, i, 15. 

I 
Would that never a man would hold to his 

griefs to-day ! 
Would that all these clouds of tears might 

roll away ! 
Would that I now were writing on the 

ground beneath God's sky, 
Where the smitten crowds of mankind go 

sadly surging by. 
In letters of scarlet made brighter with gold 
The greatest of greetings that ever was told! 
We might then all have joy; we might then 

all be winners : 
For the Saviour Himself has died to save 

sinners. 
No message but this could render me free 
As the far-stretching land and the unbounded 

sea : 
"Lo, by His blood the price of peace 

Is paid to make my sorrows cease, — 
Is paid to lift you from hell's slough, — 
To cleanse your soul and grace your brow! 
Lo, great is the message, glad the news! 
Salvation for all but those who refuse !" 

14 



YOU TOO! 

How shall they hear without a preacher? — Romans, x, 
14. 

What is it that you stand for in this unregen- 

erate time, 
When the world seems tossed in torment on 

a sea of hate and crime? — 
While, headlong, hordes sweep hellward with 

a red sword in the heart, 
And the devil gathers millions more with 

all his gold and art. 

What is it that you stand for? — standing in 

the pulpit, too ! 
Did God's Son have to suffer, that hell's child 

his work undo? 
What is it you are teaching, with you idols 

and your gold. 
While men must bear the lot of slaves, — 

while blood is bought and sold ? 

What is it you are teaching, with your idols 

ness, greed, and theft? 
What are these words you utter? — ^Are so 

few of God's sons left? 
15 



What is it you are teaching with your devil's 

cant and skill, 
While myriads sweep on hellward (by the 

churches' gentle will) ? 

And going there for "freedom" on the Devil's 

blood-red tide, 
How many can remember why the Lord and 

Saviour died? 



THE UNMINDFUL 

Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 
— John, vi, 7. 

O Lord, despite Thy care and toil, 
■ The Devil sets his net. 
To daze, to blind, mislead, defile, — 
The Devil with his greed and guile! — 
Thus, Lord, some Thee forget; 



16 



LESSONS 

Be not overcome of evil, hut overcome cznl with good, — 
Romans, xii, 21. 

What have you given to your bad neighbor? 
Sword, shell, shot, sabre. 

Gas from the gun and gas from the mouth, — 

East, west, north, south, — 
Are our gifts to our evil neighbor. 

What have you taught to your bad neighbor? 

After years of endless labor, 

Numberless lessons both doubtful and vile, — 
And the hypocrite's brag to fill the while, 
The devil's mint where the billions grow 
From blood and wound, disgrace and woe, — 

Have we taught to our bad neighbor. 

In the Hght of the sun, in the mist of the dew, 
Has your neighbor ever learned good from 
you? 



17 



AS A BRIDE 

That where I am, there may ye he also. — John, xiv, 3. 

Oh, dress me now as a bride, to go 
To meet the One who loves me so ! 

Leave not a stain on my dead, white face, — 
On the dress of white with its spotless lace; 

Lay one white rose on my quiet breast ; 
Then leave me so, to wait and rest. 

Yes, leave me so, to rest and wait 

For my Saviour's voice, — the open gate ; 

And one favor grant : As you softly tread, 
Say not, — oh, say not: "She is dead!" 



18 



INDICTED 

For all they that take the sword shall perish with the 
sword. — Matthew, xxvi, 52. 

The sword, the gun, the battle ! — 

Remember, ye guilty of this : 
The reapin is e'er for the sower, 

Though the sword be aimed, true or amiss. 

The sword and gun for the battle, — 
The canker and sword for the breast — 

The reaping is e'er for the sower, 
Be the fighting a-rage or at rest. 

Yes, sword and gun for the battle. 
And canker and sword for the breast, 

While the whirlwind sweeps onward for evil, 
Be the storm in the east or the west. 

And though far away from the battle, — 
Afar from the sound of the blast, — 

The reaping is still for the sower 
When the storm of the battle is past. 



19 



HOLD FAST! 

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both 
sure and stedfast. — Hebrews, vi, 19. 

Hold fast to the anchor! 
The wind is swift and the tide is high : 
And myriads float and, floating, die 
When the wind is swift and the tide is high. 

Hold fast to the anchor! 



CHILDREN 

lind whosoever shall offend one of these little ones. — 
Mark, ix, 42. 

O little children of the earth, 

I plead to-day for you. 

No matter what your land be called 

Nor what your sires may do. 

: . '^ - "'Hi 

O little children, — with the wind 

Upon your naked breast, — 

Who dares to look on you with scorn, 

Or speak of you with jest? 



20 



IN LOWLY GUISES 

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these. — Matthew, xxv, 45. 

Comes the Lord in lowly guises 

To the latch at gate or door 
To the garden's smiling blossoms, 

To the gold-grain-threshing floor. 

Comes the Lord in lowly guises 
Where the prison's shadows are, — 

Where the soul in durance suffers 
Fetters' gall and binding bar. 

Comes the Lord in lowly guises, — 
Lo ! the long, long hours of pain ! — 

Where the soul in anguish seeth 
As through misty night of rain. 

Comes the Lord in lowly guises. 
Whether on the sea or shore, — 

Comes the Lord in lowly guises, 
To test souls forevermore! 



21 



THE OBEDIENT SUFFRAGETTE 

Kings' daughters were there among thy honourable 
women. — Psalm, xlv, 9. 

When a woman weds a man 

She utters her consent 
To whatsoever pledge 

May mark the sacrament. 

So, why the fistic pose, — 
The wedding day once sped? 

Your silly, monkey airs 
Wear patience', to a shred. 

Who honors promises 

Will keep them, nor them break — 
Why make yourself an ape 

For any street crowd's sake? 



22 



PATRIOTISM ! 

Because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walk- 
eth about seeking whom he may devour. — / Peter, v, 8. 

O God of might and mercy, 

Prince o'er earth and sea, — 
O God of might and mercy, 

1 plead for my country with Thee ! 

O God of might and mercy, 
O Prince o'er earth and sea. 
Blast Thou the Devil's counsels. 

That the country I pray for be free. 

Blast Thou the Devil's power. 

Whose hand has gripped her heart 

Till she forgets her Saviour, 
The lessons His life did impart; 

For, guided by hell's teaching, 

She pleads Thy cause with guile. 

As she piles up her treasures 
At the shrine of the Devil the while. 



23 



A DEVIL'S GAME 



Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! — 
Matthew. — xxiii, 13. 



What mockery, this devil's trick that would a 

land deprave, — 
This fight for "freedom" that would loose 

another tyrant's slave! 
While its own sons are gagged and bound and 

sent across the wave, 
To help war's reek, in prison lie, or fill a 

ghastly grave. 



24 



CALLED 

Shew forth tht praises of him who hath called you out 
of darkness. — / Peter, ii, 9. 

O people of God, with your churches so fine, 
With their pictures that gleam and their 

chancels that shine, 
How hard are your hearts! your souls, ah, 

how dark! — 
As dense as the darkness that lurks in the 

mine. 

O people of God, with your churches so fine. 
With their pictures that gleam and their 

chancels that shine, 
How hard are your hearts! your souls, ah, 

how dark! 
When will you come out from the depths of 

the mine? — 
The deep-dug mine of the Devil's own keep, 
Where he lures you to worship and drugs you 

to sleep! 



25 



"TEN YEARS FOR CRITICISM" 

Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve 

thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast 

set up. — Daniel Hi, 18. 

"Ten years for criticism?" 

Ten years ! — and where ? 
Ten years within a living tomb ; 
Ten years of prison's grisly gloom, — 

Of prison fare! 

"Ten years for criticism!" 

Ten years ! — and how ? 
Till darkness dry the sap of life; 
Till madness in the mind be rife, 

And bowed the brow'! 

"Ten years for criticism !" 

Ten years, O king! 
Behold, thou land so fair and free! 
How can the Land of Liberty 

Bear such a thing? 



''Ten years for criticism ?" 
Ten years ! — and why ? 
26 



Because you were not tied of tongue; 
Because no fear your honor stung 
To speak a lie ! 

"Ten years for criticism!" 

O king, beware! 
Do you believe there is no God? 
Think you to bend those 'neath your rod 

Who do and dare? 



THE FINAL SURPRISE 

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: 

depart from me, ye that work iniquity. — Matthew, vii, 

23. 

O Thou Almighty, Thou All True, All Wise, 

For Thy Son's sake, save from this last sur- 
prise 

Those who will boldly Thy great judgment 
face, — 

To find their doom is darkness, — Hell their 
resting-place. 



27 



"AND IRELAND?" 
(The Voice of the People) 

A righteous man hateth lying, but a wicked man is loath- 
some, and cometh to shame. — Proverbs, v, 13. 

Behold now, ye riders and masters, 
We are tired of mirage and rime: , 

You have rifled the hear^t of the nation; 
Now show us your hand, — it is time. 

We have dripped out our red blood for "free- 
dom" ; 
Our dead strew the earth, choke the sea; 
We have fought for the "freedom of na- 
tions," — 
To set each of earth's bondsmen free! 

But what now of long-fettered Ireland, — 
The Emerald Isle by the sea? — 

What now of the rights of the Irish? 
We are waiting to hear your decree. 

Aye, what of the rights o^ the Irish, 
So long and completely enslaved? 

Behold now their royal defender 
Who prates of the "liberty" craved. 
28 



Now a glint of the glittering gold-pot, — 
Now the glimpse of a purpose fair — 

Say, what of the shackled Irish? 
Come, show us your hand, — if you dare! 

Why, what is there wrong with "freedom," 
That Ireland's chains, rest unshed? 

The links of those chains are rusty, 
Nor are all her patriots dead. 

We are tired of mirage and word-play, 
We have come to the time of the test. 

Now show us the meat from the shelling,- 
Now open your hands with your best ! 

"All are in line for freedom," — 
The large, sirs, and the small. 

And never a share for an ancient slave ! — 
What no share, sirs, at all? 

We are tired of "gas" and the movies, — 
And victims still in the slough! — 

We are tired of the noise of the "rappings,"- 
We want the whole truth now! 



29 



We want the "consent of the governed"; 

The chain from the heart and the hand; 
We are tired of the plea of the henchman 

And the rasping blare of the band. 



DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE 

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. — Mat- 
thew; vii, 20. 

We see you with your dual face 

By God's own book revealed; 
We hear your words that cheat the world, 

With motive vile concealed; 

And while your lips prate Plans of Peace 
That scare could cheat a child, 

Your heart is in the bin of blood 
Where all your gold is piled. 



30 



A MOTHER'S CHARGE 

And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto 
devils. — Leviticus, xvii, 7. 

Yes, mine own once, men and brethren; and 

free from taint and vice, — 
By all a mother's care and prayer, by all a 

mother's price! 
Yes, mine own once, men and brethren; and 

fit for a man's full part, — 
By all the whiteness of his soul and the pure- 

ness of his heart! 
But this object, men and brethren, that is 

cast from the camp and sea, — 
Cast back from the Devil's pitch and mire, 

where blackest vampires be ! — 
Yes, mine own once, men and brethren; and 

free from taint and vice, — 
By all a mother's care and prayer — Now th? 

war-lords' stolen price ! 
Yes, the war-lords' will has steeped him in 

the caldron hot of vice, 
And by his blackness, pitch, and mire I weigh 

the war-lords' price. 



31 



Is any theft more vile than this in all the 
devil's range? 

This loathsome thing come back to me is the 
war-lords' "fair" exchange! 

Yes, the virar-Iords' price, my brethren, — de- 
spoiled, sirs, gagged and ground, 

To make the shekels drop, my lords, where 
the devil's mills go round! — 

I am robbed, O men and brethren ; none may 
the loss repair, 

While the hell-pit still returns its store of the 
war-lords' devil's-ware ! 



32 



"I STOOD BY A GRAVE AS THE SUN 
WENT DOWN" 

For he hath no pleasure in fools. — Ecclesiastes, v, 4. 

"I stood by a grave as the sun went down" 
Where symbols of triumph, — Heaven's gates, 

glory's crown, — 
Wrought in delicate blooms, hid the fresh 

grave's brown. 

Yet the symbols of triumph, — ^Heaven's gates, 

glory's crown, — 
But mocked on that grave as the sun virent 

down ; 
For the soul of a tyrant, the soul of a clown, 
Had gone to its doom ere the sun went down. 



33 



THE DEFENSE OF THE PACIFIST 

// ye love me, keep my commandments. — John, xiv, IS. 

"The pacifist is a softie you may walk on all 

you please." 
Nay, I tell you ; for the Prince of Peace shall 

deal with such as these. 
These lovers of the Great One will yet fill 

your guns with rust, — 
By the power of Jehovah and the meekness 

of their trust. 



34 



DISCONTENT 

Be content with such things as ye have : for he hath said, 

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.-~ 

Hebrews, xiii, 5. 

Surely I would have longings for the things 

not meant for me, — 
Like the fretting at its limits of the yearning, 

resless sea, — 
If I did not remember (and in remembering, 

rest), 
That the Great Love cares for me, — God, who 

doth all things best. 

Let me not be like children who fret to grasp 

the brand. 
Because they know not values and cannot 

understand ; 
But let me trust in the Master who gave His 

life for me. 
So that I ne'er would lack for joy, no matter 

where I be. 



35 



THE TEN-CENT IDOLIZER 

/ am he which searcheth the reins and hearts : and I 

mill give unto every one of you according to your works. 

— Revelation, it, 23. 

There once on a time was a man, — 
E'en to-day he is found in the land, — 
With a few pennies at his command. 

There once on a time was a man, 
And he sat where he heard one say: 
"Will you not give something to God, — 
Some gift to your Maker to-day?" 

There once on a time was a man, 
And he said: "Hear that preacher, the fool! 
I, who live by poverty's rule. 
Could ne'er found a church or a school." 

There once on a time was a man, 
And he saw one who gasped by the sea. 
Who cried : "I die ! Heed my last plea, — 
Give a drink of cold water to me!" 

There once on a time was a man 
Whose answer was : "I feel your stress ; 
36 



But ten cents is all I possess; — 
I must think of my own neediness." 

There once on a time was a man 
Whom a starving child cried to, and said: 
"I have never a morsel of bread; 
A cent, please, sir ! I'm nearly dead." 

There once on a time was a man 
Who, with frowning brow, turned on his heel, 
And who answered the poor child's appeal 
With: "I wonder how these rich men feel!" 

There once on a time was a man 
Whose excuse wandered on, as you see: 
"Waste and revel where'er the rich be, — 
Yet a starved child begs alms of poor me!" 

There once on a time was a man, — 
Ah, pity that man gone astray,— 
Who many an ill might allay. 
But from God's light he e'er turned away. 



37 



IN THE NARROW PATH 

Come out from among them, and be ye separate. — II 
Corinthians, vi, 17. 

Lo, what a people we should be 

Who have been called the "friends"* of 
God! 
Lord, save us from the Devil's guile! 

Lord, save us from a Devil's rod! 

Lo, what a people we should be 
. Who have been called the "friends" of 
God! 
Lord, keep us in the narrow path, — 
The way no Devil's child hath trod! 

* John, XV, 15. 



38 



SISTER OF MINE 

Though I give my body to be burned, and have noi 
charity, it profiteth me nothing. — / Corinthians, xiii, 3. 

Sister of mine, with your bare, cold breast, 
The bleak, black night comes down ; 

Sister of mine, could I pass you by 
With the flaunt of my silken gown? 

Sister of mine who has strayed so far. 

You perish while you wait, — 
Sister of mine, come, hasten with me, 

Let us speed to the pearly gate ! 



39 



THE RESTLESS CORPSE 

She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.- 
Timothy, v, 6. 

O wanton Folly's daughter, 

You barter joy and rest 
For a mess of pottage gilded, — 

For some baubles on your breast ; 

And your heart is blown by wild winds; 

And your hopes are weft of sand; 
And you're lured on by the mirage 

And the gleaming firebrand! 



40 



FOREVER "SUBTIL" 

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the 
field which the Lord God had made. — Genesis, Hi, 1. 

The Devil drew a lovely veil o'er all his loath- 
some face, — 
A veil that hid his hideousness, his cunning, 
serpent's eyes, — 
And, eager every vestige of his nature to 
efface. 
He covered his whole person with soft 
draperies of disguise; 

Till he seemed a friendly woman, who, with 

soft hand, on me pressed; 
One who spoke with depth of earnestness, or, 

again. With gentle jest. 

These were her words: "How can you be so 
far behind the age? , 

It troubles me, nor can I hide my grief and 
my surprise. 
Why stay you here in ignorance, — despise 
your heritage? 
Well, even though you were a fool, there 
still are millions wise. 
41 



"E'en Madame Backwoods has emerged from 
brushwood rank and sage, 
And helps me polish up the brass and start 
the engine fire ; 
Yet here you stay, ten hundred years behind 
the lighted age. 
With none to bear you company, and none 
to pay your hire. 

"So silly, and so obstinate! You fease me, I 
avow. 
Why not be dead and buried if you can't 
and won't progress? 
For all earth's gold I would not have you 
sink in sin's sad slough. 
But I would have you reasonably wise, I 
must confess. 

"Think of the joys you let slip by, the 
chances of earth's bliss, — 
A woman of your talent, and a woman of 
your charm ! — 
These words that I am saying, I mean them 
not amiss. 
Yet you are as contrary as if I were plan- 
ning harm. 

42 



"I simply chide you for your good, you way- 
ward, lovely child; 
You dwell too much aloof from all: it 
makes the brain less bright. 
You might do lots of oiling, flame high where 
wealth is piled; 
Yet here you stay, quite satisfied, — a 
dreamer in the night." 



THE ONE-)POUND MISER 

And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy 

pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. — Luke, 

xix, 20. 

Do you sigh to be able to do great things? 
Do you grieve o'er vile poverty's darts and 

slings ? 
O man, woman, child, pray hard to be wiser. 
And live not and die not a poor one-pound 

miser! 



43 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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